First in Israel: Emergency Room Adapted for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

For thousands of families in Israel, the very act of arriving at the emergency room was often a challenge no less significant than the medical condition itself. For children on the autism spectrum and children with disabilities, noise, bright lighting, crowding, unexpected touch, and a lack of accommodations often made the treatment experience particularly complex, and sometimes even hindered the receipt of appropriate medical care. Now, for the first time in Israel, the Laniado Medical Center seeks to change this reality with the first pediatric emergency department of its kind in Israel, adapted for children on the autism spectrum and children with disabilities.

"You want to give your child the best treatment – but he just runs away"

One of the families familiar with this reality is the family of Omer, a child on the autism spectrum. For his mother, Lior, every visit to the emergency room was accompanied by fear, anxiety, and sometimes a feeling of helplessness. "When Omer enters a regular emergency room, he sees all the syringes, all the tubes, the beds. Everything is very gray. He goes into a frenzy, he doesn't want to, he runs away," she says. "It's not an easy feeling, that you as a mother are helpless. You really want to help your child and give him the best medical treatment." According to her, precisely at the moment when the child needs medical care, the emergency room environment itself becomes an obstacle to receiving it.

An emergency room adapted for the child as well

The new model, developed in collaboration with the ALUT association, is not limited to a new treatment room, but changes the entire concept of care. Alongside in-depth training for medical staff on autism, trauma, adapted communication, and identifying distress, the treatment environment has also been adapted to the unique needs of the children. The project includes a Snoezelen sensory regulation room, regulation and distraction aids, digital tools to prepare families for arrival at the emergency room, and joint research with Tel Aviv University, which will examine the impact of the model on the quality of care and the experience of children, parents, and medical staff.

"One in ten children arriving at the emergency room needs a different perspective"

According to Dr. Hagit Poran-Feldman, director of the pediatric emergency department at Laniado, the need for change arose from the field. "We encounter children every day who find it difficult to contain this whole experience of the emergency room. A child who is non-communicative arrives – shouting, chaos, sometimes things flying. One in ten children arriving at the emergency room is a child who needs a slightly different perspective." According to her, until today, there was no dedicated training for emergency room staff to treat children with special needs. "There is no training that speaks specifically about the nature of work in the emergency room and about dealing with children with special needs and children with disabilities."

The change is already felt in the field. "We have introduced calming elements here, from the colors on the wall to the bubble column and the music. We see how every child who enters here lowers their stress level, how the atmosphere changes, and how they manage to cooperate with us."

"Parents have knowledge that cannot be replaced"

At the ALUT association, they also emphasize that the key to success is not only in adapting the room, but also in changing the concept of care. "The emergency room is one of the most challenging places for an autistic child and their parents," says ALUT CEO Dadi Atas. "Parents have knowledge that cannot be replaced. They know how their child communicates, what calms them, how they express pain, and what might overwhelm them. Listening to them is not a gesture of goodwill, but an integral part of the ability to provide the child with proper care."

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Is this the beginning of a change in the healthcare system?

In Israel, tens of thousands of children on the autism spectrum live, alongside many other children with disabilities. At Laniado, they hope that the new initiative will not remain within the hospital's borders alone. "We hope that this model will be adopted in other emergency departments across the country," says Atas. If this indeed happens, it could be a significant step for thousands of families in Israel. The question that remains open is whether other hospitals will also adopt the model, so that every child, regardless of their place of residence, can receive professional, sensitive, and adapted medical care for their needs.